Who got that job?

Simon Loretz, research fellow, Centre for Business Taxation, Said Business School, Oxford University

Job advertised in The Times Higher , July 21, 2006

The way a Government taxes businesses operating within its borders can have a significant impact on the economy of a country and the welfare of its citizens. Yet there is little research that policymakers can consult when designing tax regimes.

The Oxford Centre for Business Taxation focuses on this research. Simon Loretz, one of three new research fellows at the centre, was drawn to Oxford University by the reputation of centre director Michael Devereux.

"This job for me is the perfect match," he said. "I got to know Michael through my PhD work when we met at a workshop on fiscal competition in Europe. We found we were working on the same research, and the relationship has grown from there."

Dr Loretz has built unique collections of historical data on taxation back to the start of the 1990s. The data sets include information such as the corporate tax rates, capital allowances for investment and the influence of tax treaties. "The information was quite hard to find for the earlier years," he said. "It is amazing that this information is not easily available, but then businesses are only really interested in the impact of current taxes."

Dr Loretz is looking at a proposal from the European Union for loss consolidation across Europe.

"Loss consolidation applies to multinational companies operating in different countries. In one country they might make losses, in another they pay tax on profits.

"The EU is proposing that losses in one country be offset by profits in another. We are trying to determine how taxation will work for this idea and to give advice on implementation," Dr Loretz said.